Chapter 41 - 41: The Trap

At the very lower levels of the airship in the largest storage room, two figures could be seen seated on the ground leaning against the wall, Anastasia and her maid. Their attention was focused on the entrance of the room where they heard footsteps approaching.

Soon Aron's figure became visible causing them both to show widened gazes at him, most especially Anastasia who had even stood up and moved closer to the barrier she was enclosed in.

"You! How are you here?" Anastasia asked in a shaky voice as Aron's presence had made her fear the worst.

When Scarlett and the others retreated she had assumed he died and they were currently being pursued and were about to meet the same fate before she got rescued. Him returning in one piece left a lot of possibilities that caused her worry.

"Am I not supposed to be?" Aron replied plainly before walking closer to the barrier and looking down into Anastasia's eyes which now held pure hatred.

"Worried your friends may have died? Interesting, so you are capable of care. Don't worry, the only thing wounded is their pride, for now at least." Aron chose to calm her worries just enough for her to not attempt anything risky and still be hopeful while worrying her enough to not underestimate him.

"Is that all you came to tell me? What is it you want?" Anastasia asked as the longer she was in Aron's presence the more she got worried.

"No, I wanted to ask you the method for projecting that is used during the Journey. Is it formation based with certain requirements and ways to start it?" Aron looked to Anastasia who hadn't expected this type of question but she chose to answer still after thinking of a plausible reason for asking.

"I'm no scholar so I don't know of the complexity behind it. However, the way it works is, it senses when large amounts of mana gather in one place or group since that usually insinuates battles. Smaller personal battles are rarely caught unless two or more top contestants meet. This is to allow people their privacy and personal details unheard. Why? Do you ask? Are you scared you're being watched even as we speak?" Anastasia explained before asking with a grin instantly thinking she was right.

"I see, that'll do." Aron turned while showing a small smile as he walked with the first piece of his plan being secured.

Later that day as evening began to fall, everyone had gathered on the deck of the ship with Aron standing at the center.

"I take it you're all ready?" Aron asked as he reached into his jacket and took the box holding the mana crystal.

"As usual, leave the ship's safety to Oxin and me, but I doubt they'll get past Jin's illusion." Scarlett crossed her arms and wore a confident expression while Oxin twirled her mace while nodding.

"No need to ask us" Jagu replied and Jin nodded before Aron opened the box, causing a bright light to surge up into the sky for a brief moment.

Immediately after doing this, he closed the box and returned it to his jacket. At that very moment, the cries of beasts and creatures began resounding throughout the area. Some are low and moderate while others are fierce and loud.

"That's a lot of beasts, we should probably get going now. But before that, how are you sure they'll be approached from the southwest?" Jin asked in curiosity to which Aron just pointed at Evanora who wore a cloak and just looked blankly at everyone.

With no further questions, Jin, Jagu, Aron, and Evanora left the airship and walked around five hundred meters southwest before coming to a stop at a small clearing and looking up.

"I see it, roughly two hundred and seventy meters away. Quickly get into your positions and wait for your chances."

As Aron said this Jagu and Jin nodded before they went in opposite directions, their figure's soon disappearing in the forest leaving only Evanora and Aron.

"Evanora will provide support. She commands the mana to hide her." Evanora turned to Aron and raised the hood of her cloak before muttering a command that caused her own shadow to engulf her and vanish from the scene.

With everyone gone, Aron directed his attention towards the approaching airship and removed his arcane gun from its holster, and took a mana-infused bullet from his belt before aiming it up towards the ship.

"Well then, It's time we begin." Aron quickly placed the mana-infused bullet into the arcane and pulled the trigger with a small smile on his face.

What followed was the loud explosion from it making contact with the airships barrier which was all but destroyed in that single shot.

On the deck of the airship, numerous figures could be seen trying to hold on to whatever they could as the ship shook furiously from the attack. Among the figures, one, in particular, looked especially angry at this.

"Lord Henry, that's the exact attack that took out the other airships." Ilia who had slouched on the ground quickly got up and reported to Henry who also stood up and looked in the direction the blast had come from.

"Is it him?" Brutas walked over to his side and asked with furrowed brows to which Henry nodded.

"We can't move with the ship, it makes us an easy target. Quickly gather everyone, we won't let him get away." Henry commanded as his subordinates began running up and down the ship in preparation.

"What the hell is going on?" At that moment, Esmeralda and her sister made their way onto the deck along with Sebastian and got briefed on the situation.

"That bastard really attacked us first? Then why are we standing here, let's go before he escapes." Esmeralda added after hearing Henry explain the situation briefly. Meanwhile, Emilia walked over to the rail before showing a worried look.

"I wouldn't be worried about that, he's coming this way." She muttered, getting everyone's attention as she proceeded to point at a figure that could be seen running closer towards the ship.

"Tch, let's go! We can't let him fire whatever artifact he's using from close range and where is Juliet?" Henry asked in a hurried tone as he prepared to jump off the airship.

"She said she wouldn't be coming my Lord, she didn't state why." A subordinate bowed and informed Henry who just clicked his tongue in irritation before gesturing for the others to follow him.

Meanwhile in the forest below...

'Fifty meters, hundred meters...' Aron was running at a slow pace as he began closing the distance between him and the airship.

Just as he was about to pass the hundred and fifty-meter threshold, he was forced to come to a stop as a large projectile suddenly landed in front of him with tremendous force, shaking the surrounding trees and causing the dust to rise.

"You think just because you got one artifact you can stand against us... I'll show you just how wrong you are, commoner. Your luck ends here" As the dust cleared, a large silver sword could be seen buried into the ground, and approaching from behind it was an angry Brutas.

"Your words run-heavy, but I wonder if you can prove they're more than just that. Empty words.." Aron dropped his hood and put his arcane gun back into its holster before starting to walk slowly towards Brutas.